Surviving R. Kelly - General Discussion

[Guest]

16 hours ago, SDVegas said:

What documentary are you talking about?

Leaving Neverland. It was on HBO.

[Dr.OO7]

On 1/5/2020 at 9:20 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

if you are only talking to your daughters about consent and MeToo but not your sons, then you're still not doing it right.

After the Parkland shooting, a woman posted to Facebook about a conversation with her nephew, who had asked out a girl and been turned down.

Aunt: You know what to do now, right?

Nephew: Yeah, I know. Keep trying.

Aunt: NO. She gave you her answer. Leave her alone.

She wrote that he was completely shocked, because NO ONE had ever told him that before and ended her posts with a very emphatic "TEACH YOUR BOYS".

Indeed. People outright encourage their sons to continue pursuing girls who have told them "No", then are shocked when these same boys are arrested for stalking, rape, etc. and insist, "My son would NEVER do that! I raised him to respect women!"

No, you didn't.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

R. Kelly’s trial has been postponed until October

Federal agents “very recently” executed a search warrant to seize more than 100 electronic devices Kelly had hidden away in a storage facility outside of Chicago. Prosecutors revealed word of the seizure at an arraignment hearing on Thursday, during which they also updated the 13-count indictment against Kelly to include another victim, identified only as “Minor 6.” What’s more, the prosecution expects further charges related to “yet another victim” may arise as authorities investigate the newly obtained cell phones, tablets, and hard drives.

[Quilt Fairy]

R Kelly faces new charges in federal court in New York
 

Quote

The accusations keep growing against R. Kelly.

An updated indictment adds five acts of racketeering and charges the singer and entertainer with four more counts of violating the Mann Act for allegedly coercing and transporting women and girls across state lines to engage in illegal sexual activity.

The new charges were included in a nine-count superseding indictment filed Friday in US District Court in New York. It replaces and enlarges upon a five-count indictment handed down in the same district last summer.

 

 

Edited March 15, 2020 by Quilt Fairy

[ElectricBoogaloo]

R. Kelly Pleads Not Guilty to Herpes-Exposure Allegations

Quote

One of the people exposed to herpes was a minor female, and the other was an adult female. Kelly allegedly “engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse” with these two accusers, who are referred to as Jane Doe #5 and Jane Doe #6 in court papers. Kelly allegedly did so “without first informing” them “that he had contracted herpes and obtaining her consent to sexual intercourse in these circumstances …” The adult partner, Jane Doe #6, “ultimately learned that she had contracted herpes during the course of her relationship with the defendant.”

Also of note:

Quote

R. Kelly asked for bail yet again on Friday because of coronavirus concerns. This time, his lawyers claimed that he was “likely diabetic.” “It is a fact that people who are diabetic are at a much higher risk for serious complications should they be infected with Covid 19,” wrote Steve Greenberg, one of Kelly’s attorneys, in a letter to Judge Ann M. Donnelly. On Thursday, Kelly told his lawyers that he had just received results from medical tests conducted in March; those tests revealed that he was just below the threshold for diabetes, Greenberg claimed. “He also suffers from high blood pressure and cholesterol issues,” Greenberg said in his letter Friday.

 

[SunnyBeBe]

I just watched season 1 of this series. I will start watching season 2 soon.  I'm trying to catch up on all the posts on this thread. There are some great observations. 

It really is horrifying to see what a monster the man is.  For me, what resonated the most was the way his ex-wife, not the child bride, described him.  It was that of a true narcissist. They all share certain traits. As she described some of them it brought back so many terrible memories of my ex.  He wasn't into children or even multiple women, but, he was an emotional abuser who derived pleasure from berating and degrading the woman in his life. Man, it was crazy how much it sounded like him.  I really feel no sympathy for Robert  Kelly, despite his history of childhood abuse.  He's had ample  opportunity to get therapy or even hire someone to keep him from hurting girls. So, he deserves life in prison, imo.

I do disagree a bit about the contention that is voiced in the film and elsewhere that no one brought Kelly down earlier, because his victims were black.  I'm not so sure about that.  No one took Michael Jackson down either and most of his victims were white children.  Epstein also had white victims and Dr. Nasser (US Olympics) had mostly white victims.  To me, they got a pass  because the victims were children and many people care about everything else ABOVE a child's welfare.  I've contended for years that protecting children from sexual predators is not a priority in this country.  It gets a lot of attention at times, but, it's not a priority.   It's also ignored and defended in poor communities where the offenders are not rich and famous. I'm not sure what it will take to change this perversion in our society that is so pervasive. 

I hope Season 2 addressed the whereabouts of the missing ladies. I'm very curious. 

Edited June 24, 2020 by SunnyBeBe

[SunnyBeBe]

In season two they show Robert Kelly after his arrests as well as the two women who are continuing to support him and walk his dog.  So, who is managing his funds? How can he afford to keep the ladies up in style?  Who is paying their bills, making their airline reservations, supervising them, etc? Do they have a suicide pact with him? Just curious as to how they spend their day, afford to live, etc. without him working.  Also, since his music royalty money is going to pay child support, what's left for the ladies to live on.  

[Scarlett45]

On 6/24/2020 at 11:01 AM, SunnyBeBe said:

I just watched season 1 of this series. I will start watching season 2 soon.  I'm trying to catch up on all the posts on this thread. There are some great observations. 

It really is horrifying to see what a monster the man is.  For me, what resonated the most was the way his ex-wife, not the child bride, described him.  It was that of a true narcissist. They all share certain traits. As she described some of them it brought back so many terrible memories of my ex.  He wasn't into children or even multiple women, but, he was an emotional abuser who derived pleasure from berating and degrading the woman in his life. Man, it was crazy how much it sounded like him.  I really feel no sympathy for Robert  Kelly, despite his history of childhood abuse.  He's had ample  opportunity to get therapy or even hire someone to keep him from hurting girls. So, he deserves life in prison, imo.

I do disagree a bit about the contention that is voiced in the film and elsewhere that no one brought Kelly down earlier, because his victims were black.  I'm not so sure about that.  No one took Michael Jackson down either and most of his victims were white children.  Epstein also had white victims and Dr. Nasser (US Olympics) had mostly white victims.  To me, they got a pass  because the victims were children and many people care about everything else ABOVE a child's welfare.  I've contended for years that protecting children from sexual predators is not a priority in this country.  It gets a lot of attention at times, but, it's not a priority.   It's also ignored and defended in poor communities where the offenders are not rich and famous. I'm not sure what it will take to change this perversion in our society that is so pervasive. 

I hope Season 2 addressed the whereabouts of the missing ladies. I'm very curious. 

It’s possible for multiple things to be true at once. 
 

Anyone who sexually abuses another person is evil PERIOD and needs to be dealt with. It’s never the victims fault. Anyone who abuses vulnerable people who can’t even defend themselves- kids, mentally disabled adults, the elderly, are an extra disgusting level of evil and deserve to be under the jail. 
 

But race, gender norms, money and power do come into play when we are discussing these huge trends of sexual abuse. Any child can be a victim of abuse (any race or gender or involved in any activity)- but how we raise boys vs girls, who we tell children to trust etc enables these PREDATORS to gain access to children again and again and again.

 

I definitely think R. Kelly was allowed to get away with his abuse of children as long as he did because he was targeting adolescent black girls- we are not valued in the hierarchy of white patriarchy. We are also viewed to be more mature, more sexually available, less in need of protecting than white girls the same age. I don’t think R. Kelly could’ve used the tactics he used to abuse pre-pubescent girls in the same way because girls that age are protected more, and I think more people would’ve blown the whistle on him. 
 

I also think Michael Jackson was able to abuse white boys as long as he did in part because they were BOYS- girls on average are watched more, taught to be cautious of their bodies more, and parents are less likely to let their girl children hang out with unrelated men alone as a cultural rule. (I talk about this more in the Finding Neverland discussion)

UNLESS said man is in a position of trust or authority- like a priest, youth group minister or DOCTOR like Larry Nassar. 
 

When talking about all three of these scum bags- they had money and power and had access to minors who’s parents/caregivers were often more interested in making money off of the child (performance, music, Olympic level gymnastics), which made it very easy for them to abuse again and again and again. 
Yes of course some of the children were very brave, and they had parents who removed them from the situation and got them help, but there were more kids put in their path for the very reasons listed above. 
 

Personally- first I blame R. Kelly for his crimes, then I blame the people who worked for him that assisted him, then I blame these “parents” who had to fucking know! I knew about R. Kelly and I was the “black people version” of sheltered and I was a TEEN. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

R. Kelly to be moved to NYC for sex-trafficking trial

Quote

A federal judge gave the green light Thursday to move jailed R&B singer R. Kelly to New York City to go on trial this summer after several delays.

Kelly has been held in Chicago, where he’s facing a potential second trial in the fall in a separate federal case related to a sprawling sex crimes investigation.

The trial in Brooklyn federal court had been put off because of the pandemic. But at a virtual hearing, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly told lawyers that there are courthouse protections in place that would allow it to finally go forward on Aug. 9.

The judge also said the government should start preparations to move Kelly to a New York jail, most likely the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The exact timing was unclear.

 

[Athena]

R Kelly found guilty of sex trafficking

[Dr.OO7]

On 9/27/2021 at 3:51 PM, Athena said:

R Kelly found guilty of sex trafficking

GOOD. Now lock him up for the rest of his disgusting life.

[DanaK]

A final (for now) 2-part chapter to be released in January on Lifetime https://variety.com/2022/music/news/surviving-r-kelly-final-chapter-trailer-release-date-1235461135/

[DanaK]

Some details about the final chapters, including that Kelly also abused young men https://variety.com/2023/music/news/surviving-r-kelly-final-part-three-predator-grooming-men-producer-interview-1235477253/

[Enero]

The Final Chapter retreads over the previous chapters, but add new footage. It gives some of the parents more of a platform to discuss what happened and talk about the trial, with reporters giving their perspective on the trial and features Jim Degarotis - the reporter who wrote about Kelly’s crimes for years until the case was broken. He even wrote a book about his crimes. Though I don’t know the name.

The new information revealed in this documentary was absolutely disgusting. Not only did Kelly prey on girls, but teen boys. He also made the victims eat feces, smear it on themselves while saying degrading names about themselves and would spill his seed on their face and body and not allow them to clean up. And the list goes on and on. He is a vile human being who doesn’t deserve to see the light of day ever again. 

Like the victims though, I’m a little concerned about the guilty verdict being overturned in the long run especially when hearing about what seemed like incompetence by his attorneys. And now Cosby’s appeals attorney taking on Kelly’s case makes me even more nervous. 

I do wonder how the case would’ve gone had Aaliyah lived? Would she have denied what happened? Or testified against him? And how her decision would’ve shaped the other victim’s decision to testify or not to testify. It was sad and infuriating hearing about how her uncle used her as a pawn to get what he wanted from Kelly and how her family sold her out after discovering he’d married her. They got her out of the situation but took a payout to keep quiet and as a result many many more teen girls were victimized. 

I feel bad for Jocelyn’s parents. It seems as if something may have already been broken within her for her to quit college and move in with Kelly. And then after all this time she’s still standing by him claiming to be engaged to him, claiming to have recently had his baby even though he’s been locked up for two years. She’s still refusing to reconnect with her family and refusing to see that he is a monster. I don’t know if her family broke her first and Kelly took advantage of that or if it was all Kelly’s doing, but it’s sad. 

I’m glad most of the featured women are getting counseling or have gotten counseling. 

I hope all the young girls and women (and boys/men) who were victims find healing and can have healthy love and relationships in the future. Sometimes when people suffer this type of abuse it’s like a scar on their soul that seems to attract abusers to them and thus they suffer in ongoing abusive relationships throughout their lives. I hope that will not be the case for these victims.

Edited January 5, 2023 by Enero

[DanaK]

R.Kelly sentenced to 20 years for his recent child sex abuse conviction, though all but one year will be served concurrently with his previous 30 year sentence

https://ew.com/music/r-kelly-chicago-sentencing-additional-year-prison/

[SunnyBeBe]

I need to check out the final chapters.  

[Rlb8031]

I finally started watching this. A few mind-blowing revelations:

• It looks like the settlement that Alliah's family entered into resulted in their getting ownership of his publishing rights for his first three albums. That explains why the family has been silent for all these years.
• It was really interesting watching the commentary between the woman and her friend when she claimed that "Robert isn't a bad person, he just does bad things. I wish he would get the help he needs".
• There are clearly people who are continuing to benefit from this including those members of his inner circle that have managed to stay out of jail, and the attorney who has clearly been making bank representing R.